Belarus, 2011

Much has been said from this rostrum in recent years

about global governance. Yet in fact there is a

pervasive feeling that chaos is inexorably engulfing our

planet. Indeed, one global crisis comes hard on the

heels of another. International law is being shamelessly

trampled. Inequality and poverty are on the rise, and

above all, an ever increasing number of people in the

world are exposed to suffering.

This is the logical outcome of the world operating

without a system and order. Twenty years ago, the

international community had its own constitutional

moment as a result of the end of an epochal

confrontation, an opportunity to elaborate a

comprehensive strategy for stable development of the

world in the future. We missed that opportunity, first of

all because egoism and gloating rather than common

sense took the upper hand in the mindset of the

so-called winners.

The lack of common vision excluded the

possibility of our taking effective concerted action. As

a result, the international community today is only

reacting to ever-rising global challenges, having no

recourse to instruments that might prevent them. The

situation is bound to persist unless we arrive together

at a set of long-term, efficient measures. We need a

global strategy against chaos.

The failures of the international community over

the past twenty years suggest that for such a strategy to

become a strategy for success, it would have to be built

around the following three foundations: strengthening

international law, establishing global partnerships and

revitalizing the United Nations.

The history of mankind has always been the

history of the opposition of power and law. Only in the

past century has that argument been resolved, and only

de jure, in favour of the latter. By the way, it is hardly

an exaggeration to say that a civilization is shaped by

its transition from power to law.

Belarus is firmly convinced that a strategy

against chaos cannot succeed if we fail to preserve and

strengthen the system of international law as a

deterrent against lawlessness and impunity. Clearly,

there is more than enough reason to be concerned,

since power, de facto, dominates law more often than

not.

This year we have witnessed far-reaching

changes in the Middle East. The countries of that

region have the inalienable right to determine their

own way of development. All of us must respect the

choice made by those States and refrain from

interfering in their internal affairs. That is our

international obligation as Member States of the United

Nations.

Unfortunately, not every country complies with

its international obligations concerning the free choice

of development paths. For decades the United States of

America has maintained an economic, trade and

financial blockade against freedom-loving Cuba. That

is a clear violation of United Nations principles and

decisions.

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Belarus has also found itself the target not only of

malicious attacks but also of economic sanctions for

the choice that the Belarussian nation made with the

election of its own President. Belarussians will never

renounce their right of choice. Determining our own

path of development is a sacred value to us. Neither

sanctions nor blackmail and threats will alter our

stance. Justice is on our side.

Belarus has never tried to teach anyone how to

live. We consistently advocate the need to respect the

diverse development paths of the world’s nations. The

Republic of Belarus stands ready to develop mutually

beneficial cooperation with all countries, even those

with whom we continue to have acute differences.

After all, we are simply asking that others treat us as

we treat them, with respect and equality. That is our

right too.

The great Albert Einstein once said: “Problems

cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that

created them.” The growing transnational challenges

and threats cannot be successfully addressed through

traditional foreign policy tools such as balance of

power, spheres of influence, sanctions and threats. We

need new forms of cooperation that factor in the two

contemporary global shifts that foreign policy analysts

correctly emphasize: from the West to the rest, and

from States to non-State actors.

We believe that global partnerships among States,

international organizations, civil society and the

private sector represent the best form of cooperation

for facing those and any other challenges.

Global partnerships constitute an integral part of

the strategy against chaos. It is just such partnerships

that can ensure a real pooling of efforts by interested

stakeholders in today’s world in order to oppose the

whole array of challenges and threats that recognize no

borders. We are certain that at the international level

there is no alternative to integration and inclusiveness.

Globalization and interdependence have made all of us

equally vulnerable to transnational problems. Thus,

there cannot be well-being and stability in the world

for the few while others live in poverty and suffering.

The profound changes in Africa and the Middle

East caused by the growing problems of poverty and

inequality dictate the need to achieve a global

partnership for development. Last year’s High-level

Meeting at the United Nations and the Seoul Meeting

of the Group of 20 made important contributions to the

efforts in this field. At the same time, the relentless rise

of oil, food and energy prices across the globe points

out a new strain on development, hence the need for

more proactive and unconventional approaches.

Among such specific approaches, we consider it

important to address the issue of the transfer of

effective, cutting-edge energy technologies to

developing and middle-income countries. That is also a

key element for overcoming the problems of climate

change. What is crucial here is that such technologies

already exist and are established in many parts of the

globe. Therefore, the difficulties are not technical.

Ultimately, let us grasp one point: today it is

impossible to have a green paradise for the affluent

countries while the poor ones live in a contaminated

hell. The finite nature of Earth rules out such a

scenario.

As a practical step, Belarus would like to suggest

setting up a global mechanism — through a General

Assembly resolution on new and renewable sources of

energy and under the outcome document of the Rio+20

Conference — under the aegis of the United Nations to

ensure access to modern energy technologies for all

countries of the world. That would be our best

contribution to the International Year of Sustainable

Energy for All that we are to celebrate in 2012.

Over the past year, we have made important

strides in forging the Global Partnership against

Slavery and Trafficking in Human Beings in the

Twenty-first Century, initiated by Belarus. The

implementation of the Global Plan of Action to Combat

Trafficking in Persons is under way. Interested States,

international organizations and civil society, along with

the private sector, are already actively participating in

the process. It is gratifying that these efforts have

focused on protecting the rights of victims.

Throwing its full weight behind such an

approach, Belarus was among the first States to make a

voluntary contribution to the United Nations Voluntary

Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking. We are grateful

to those countries that joined in the work of the Group

of Friends United against Human Trafficking.

Among the prospects for establishing global

partnerships, we see as highly promising the theme of

supporting youth. At the Assembly’s High-level

Meeting on Youth last year, Belarus came up with the

initiative to create a partnership to that effect. We

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welcome the High-level Meeting on Youth held in July

this year in the context of the International Year of

Youth. We hope that the event will be followed by the

development of efficient global policies to protect the

interests of youth.

There is a natural place where a strategy for

development for the future must be devised and

implemented. That place is the United Nations. The

question today is, to what extent is the United Nations

fit to take this task upon itself? Let us be frank. We all

have claims against the United Nations. Indeed, the

major task of the Organization over the past years

seems to have been to survive various crises rather than

to solve, let alone prevent, them.

Is the United Nations to blame for this state of

affairs? Let us be outspoken once more and say “No”.

The United Nations is us. It is us, the Member States,

who are at fault, because together we failed both to

grasp what kind of world we wanted to build and to

adjust the United Nations to the new realities.

Therefore, it is hardly surprising that the United

Nations has more frequently served as a stage for

individual actors rather than as a platform for common

action.

The need to revitalize the Organization stands out

sharply as never before. We need to reform the

principal organs of the United Nations and the

fundamental orientation of its activities.

The Security Council should not stay fixed in a

form that was appropriate in era of realpolitik. In the

interests of developing countries above all, we are

convinced that the Council must be enlarged in both

categories. Bringing the Council’s working methods

into conformity with the spirit of the age must serve to

enhance the authority and efficiency of its work.

The world is plagued by severe economic

problems, yet the substantial economic capacities of

the United Nations have not been properly utilized.

The activities of the Economic and Social Council

should be aligned with solutions to the urgent problems

of Member States to a much greater extent than they

are now. Belarus is eager to contribute to this work,

including as member of the Council, provided that next

month Member States do Belarus the honour of

electing it to that vital United Nations body.

Strengthening the United Nations is impossible

without striking a balance among the interests of

various groups of countries. Several years ago, Belarus

was among the Member States that initiated efforts to

have the General Assembly pay greater attention to the

problems of middle-income countries. We are glad to

see that since then there has been a growing

understanding of the significance of that group of

countries in world political and economic processes. At

the current session Belarus, together with like-minded

countries, will continue efforts to guide United Nations

organs conducting operational activities towards a

more robust and efficient response to the specific needs

of that group of countries and its many members.

The authority of the United Nations among the

world’s ordinary people is high in places where it

really helps in the transition from chaos and violence

to order and stability through its peacekeeping

activities. In our view, efforts to strengthen this domain

demand the widest support. Responding to the request

of the Secretary-General, Belarus started contributing

as it could by taking part in peacekeeping operations.

There is also the need to enhance the mediation

role of the United Nations in the settlement of disputes

by peaceful means. For that it is important not only to

build up the Organization’s internal capacities, but to

ensure active United Nations cooperation with regional

organizations, for instance the Collective Security

Treaty Organization (CSTO), which know best the

problems in their own areas of responsibility. As the

current Chair of the CSTO, Belarus stands ready to

assist in this effort as much as it can.

Martin Luther King once said, “The time is

always right to do what is right.” Let us heed this

reasonable advice and, as the international community,

do without delay what we must do.